The diagnosis of cancer in a child is no longer synonymous with death. However, cancer is still the leading cause of death from disease in American children over one year of age. In addition, most of the major advances in treatment were made prior to 1970 and the dismal prognoses of some tumors (T cell leukemia, disseminated neuroblastoma) remain unchanged. Even in therapy-responsive tumors such as common cell ALL, lymphomas and Wilms' tumor, 20-50% of children relapse. Clearly there is a need for more fundamental knowledge about the origin, biologic properties, subtypes, and reasons for varying responsiveness to therapy of different childhood tumors. The Midwest Children's Cancer Center is a clinical research facility, associated with research laboratories focusing on problems generated by patient care. The six general objectives of the Center are: (1) Determination of pharmacokinetics, mechanisms of action and efficacy of new anti-cancer drugs; (2) development of further understanding of the immune system in children with cancer and possible ways of utilizing it for treatment; (3) development of new anti-cancer treatments by comparative and exploratory studies; (4) assessment of infectious problems in children with cancer and ways of treating or preventing them; (5) provision of childhood cancer education for physicians, basic scientists, students, nurses, and the public; (6) collaboration with neighboring institutions, other Cancer Centers and community programs. On a larger scale, the Cancer Center's aim is to generate awareness, interest and involvement in childhood cancer by the medical community and lay public. It also serves as a model for organization of care and research for other life threatening diseases requiring intensive long-term multidisciplinary treatment.